Initiations, toxic drinking culture and ritual humiliation are allegedly still alive and well in one well-known Cardiff University society, according to a source. Despite the Union’s ban on initiations and strict rules for societies, dangerous behaviour is reportedly still continuing under the university’s radar, creating an environment that “fosters exclusion, humiliation, and judgement”. An anonymous source, who joined as a Fresher in 2025, claims that the highly regarded society was presented as a safe space but that treatment from older members made them feel like an outsider, claiming they “felt alienated in a space that should have been supportive”.
Despite the university’s rules, the source alleges that excessive drinking culture, intimidation and initiation practices are still rife in this society, claiming that “the society is so focused on heavy drinking that anyone who doesn’t want that lifestyle is shamed or excluded”, and that they operate with a “gang mentality”. The source also highlighted the mistreatment of Freshers, describing a “humiliation or initiation ritual” in which they were allegedly forced to “crawl into a house, wear nappies on our heads” and even “made to eat dog food”. The source claims they were “treated like a second-class citizen simply for being a Fresher” and that “no one seemed to care about how uncomfortable or degraded we felt”.
I was made to eat dog food
The source also had deep concerns over the society’s social media presence. Allegedly, publicly posted images include people nude, on the toilet, or extremely drunk and vomiting. (Some of which have been seen by Gair Rhydd). The source called this “completely inappropriate” and said it disregards the wellbeing and safety of those being photographed.
As well as disregarding the online safety of their own members, the source alleges that the society is also “openly hostile” to societies from other universities, claiming that “the things they say are appalling and absolutely should not be online”. The source said that the university is continuing to endorse the society to Freshers, saying it is “painted as one of the best societies at the university, and staff promote it without any real understanding of what goes on inside.” They claim this pushes students toward a society “that doesn’t reflect the values the university claims to uphold”, highlighting a possible need for more monitoring of treatment within student bodies. Readers may remember that the Men’s Cricket Club was banned for the remainder of the academic year in January.
A statement made at the time on the Union’s website says that their “investigation found clear evidence that activity associated with the Club fell well below the standards expected of Union members. These behaviours were inconsistent with our Code of Conduct, [...] and raised significant concerns around student safety and welfare.” The statement reiterates their zero-tolerance policy around initiations, which they say “is guided by a clear duty of care to students”. According to these allegations, despite the harsh consequences seen for other clubs found to be breaching the university’s code of conduct, and despite expectations being repeatedly communicated, there are students and societies still taking advantage of, and mistreating their members, both new and old.
Additionally, if staff members are endorsing the society to new students without knowing about its alleged malpractice, this raises concerns around whether societies need to be monitored more closely to ensure future students can be safeguarded from this mistreatment. The Union’s website urges anyone with concerns around conduct within a sports club or society to contact the Union via their customer service email or raise issues with the university using the Report and Support tool. Students can be supported in doing so by the Union Advice Team.
In the interest of protecting the source of these claims, Gair Rhydd has not contacted the society in question, nor will we name them.